


An experiment, sensei?

by DramaticalHearts (kusokawaii)



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bondage, Breathplay, Choking, Dirty Talk, Discord: The Kingdom of Shipping (Dr. STONE), Established Stanley Snyder/Dr. Xeno, Hand Jobs, M/M, Mocking, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Power Bottom, Teasing, Topping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:28:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25612099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kusokawaii/pseuds/DramaticalHearts
Summary: [Spoilers up to manga chapter 159 for fic ch.1, up to 161 for fic ch.2]Senku's cheated death. Again.Now, Dr. Xeno's compound is about to get raided by the strike team. While it would have been perfectly reasonable for Senku to remain behind — he was supposed to be pretending to be dead, after all — Senku won't hear of it.He wants to confront his former mentor, face-to-face.If only to see that arrogant smirk slide off his face at the sight of the presumed-dead Senku Ishigami.
Relationships: Ishigami Senkuu/Dr. Xeno
Comments: 15
Kudos: 59





	1. An experiment

**Author's Note:**

> I blame The Kingdom of Shipping for this one, lmao  
> (ily guys)  
> Someone mentioned that Senku would be the type to calculate exactly what amount of pressure his bf would have to apply to his neck for maximum erotic asphyxiation, which reminded me of the breathplay fic I wrote for DMMd 5 years ago, one thing led to another, and now... this.
> 
> Just a heads-up: There are POV switches in this fic, and after the second break, the narration becomes semi-omniscient, going from character to character as needed. I don't usually write that way, but I felt like this story warranted it.  
> (Honestly this could've been an RP, but I wanted to write it all myself, lol)
> 
> Disclaimers: Don't try this at home, Senku is 19 (as stated in canon), and don't like? Don't read.
> 
> If you have anything nice to say though, feel free to leave a comment~
> 
> Well, have fun ;)
> 
> Many thanks again to [coolangelsthesis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolangelsthesis/pseuds/coolangelsthesis) for beta-reading this for me!! <3 (And for being cool with my info-dumping, lol)

_Honestly, how many more people are gonna try to kill me?_ Senku thought in exasperation. _One more and I might develop a kink.  
  
_There was no time to dwell on any of that, though. Senku and the rest of the Perseus crew’s ruse would only last so long, and they had to act fast. As far as Dr. Xeno’s team knew, Senku was done and dusted. The acting job led by Taiju and Yuzuriha — pros at faking their best friend’s death by now — made sure of that. Now their operation turned covert — Senku would be transferred to the strike team, who would move to invade Dr. Xeno’s headquarters soon after they made their rendezvous, its members all guarding Senku until they would arrive.   
  
While it would have been perfectly reasonable for Senku to remain behind — he was supposed to be pretending to be dead, after all — Senku wouldn’t hear of it.  
  
He wanted to confront his former mentor, face-to-face.  
  
If only to see that arrogant smirk slide off his face at the sight of the presumed-dead Senku Ishigami.  
  


* * *

  
Dr. Xeno could not settle down.   
  
Since giving the order to Stanley to shoot Senku Ishigami, he had been left with a feeling of restlessness that he couldn’t shake. When his hands were unoccupied, at least one of the extended tips would tap on whatever they were rested on. When his hands were occupied, his foot would do the tapping.  
  
It had been the right call, right? Of course it had been. He knew Senku too well, their long-distance relationship of sorts had gone on long enough for that — he would never have served Xeno; their worldviews were far too different. He was naive, Xeno was not. It couldn’t be helped. Having him around would only have proven troublesome for Xeno and his plans.  
  
But why couldn’t he shake the feeling that he had done something terribly wrong?  
  
He had felt conflicted before making it, certainly — but all things considered, it was the correct path to take.  
  
_But are my goals worth sacrificing my gifted mentee for?_ Xeno had asked himself.  
  
Xeno shakes his head, foot going still at last. The choice had been made, the deed had been done. It was time to move on.  
  
Just then, Xeno heard a large commotion, coming from somewhere in the castle.  
  
He reaches for his communicator. “Stan? What was that?”  
  
Stanley’s voice crackles back to him. “You had better get down here.”  
  
Xeno, taken by surprise, quickly pulls off his headset, lowers the platform upon which his armchair sat, and leaves his record room, his black coat furling behind him as he makes his way down the spiral stairs to the foyer, where he had heard the commotion originate.  
  
What meets his eyes upon his arrival is nothing short of chaotic.  
  
Two brawny men, clearly Japanese in ethnicity, had taken over, the door to the mansion completely destroyed and the guards knocked unconscious and tied up. One smaller man hung back, his arrow at the ready, eyes searching. Most shockingly, Stanley’s gun had been knocked to the wayside, Stanley himself now pinned by one of the men and being tied up as well.  
  
Tentatively, Xeno reaches the bottom of the staircase, and one of the men turns to meet his gaze. He’s damn near seven feet tall, with Tarzan-like hair and a face nearly as pretty as Stanley’s (Stanley always hated it when Xeno mentioned his looks, often lighting another cigarette in defiance and perhaps in rejection of them — Xeno always wished he wouldn’t).  
  
The very tall and buff man glares at Xeno, with Xeno unsure what to do.  
  
“Hello?” he offers in Japanese. “Quite a rude entrance you’ve made, don’t you think?”  
  
“I think it’s warranted.”  
  
Xeno feels his heart stop in his chest, jerking to life a moment after. _That voice… !  
  
_Someone moves from behind the giant man, moving to stand in front of him.  
  
“Long time no see, _Dr. X._ ”  
  
Xeno can feel his face and composure slackening, but he can’t help it.  
  
A _very alive_ Senku Ishigami is standing before him.  
  


* * *

  
Xeno’s reaction didn’t disappoint.  
  
Senku smirked broadly. Entering Xeno’s stronghold with no loss of life, _and_ getting to meet the man himself? This is going brilliantly already.  
  
His heart’s racing, though. This _is_ the man who sought to have him killed. It’s only the strength of his teammates around him that keeps him from showing his fear.  
  
Besides, more than anything? Senku is _pissed.  
  
_ “You thought you could kill me, huh? It’s gonna take a hell of a lot more than a bullet to stop me. Just ask this guy,” Senku gestures to Tsukasa. “He broke my neck once and I _still_ came back.”  
  
Xeno’s jet-black eyes are darting back and forth between him and Tsukasa. “Wh-why are you _here?_ ”  
  
“Can’t a guy want to meet his old mentor?” Senku’s smirk turned wicked as he stepped forward. “I wanted you to see what you’d be missing out on-”  
  
Suddenly Xeno moves — tackling Senku and getting a tight grip on him. Senku holds back a squawk, and tries to fight back, kicking and flailing, but he had been caught unaware during his monologue, losing the advantage he otherwise might have had. One of Xeno’s hands grips Senku’s wrists together, the other arm wrapping around his waist. Senku winces at the pain Xeno’s touch provokes there — his gunshot wounds are still too fresh for this kind of manhandling.  
  
Tsukasa springs into action, but Xeno’s already hauling Senku up the stairs, Senku struggling in vain in his grip. Tsukasa isn’t deterred, though — he quickly closes the distance between them, grabbing Xeno’s shoulder in a vice grip, effectively stopping him in his tracks.  
  
Senku can see the feral look in Tsukasa’s eyes, when he meets his own in an implicit question — _am I allowed to kill him?  
  
_ Senku gives a small shake of his head, and looks up to Xeno. “Just where the hell are you taking me?”  
  
“We’re going to have a little talk,” Xeno replies, and despite his air of confidence, something about it seems like he isn’t so sure himself of what he’s doing right now.  
  
“If you kill him, I will kill you,” Tsukasa warns.  
  
“That’s right, Tsukasa here is the only one who’s allowed to kill me,” Senku smirks again.  
  
Xeno looks torn, an expression that looks out of place on him. He spares a glance at one of the captives, a blond man. The man gives a single nod.  
  
At the same time, Senku looks at Tsukasa, mouths _“trust me.”  
  
_ Xeno then looks back to Tsukasa. “Noted. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”   
  
Tsukasa reluctantly lets go, and Xeno continues hauling Senku up the stairs, taking two at a time.  
  


* * *

  
Xeno reaches his record room, shutting the door and dropping Senku unceremoniously to the floor, then turning to pace back and forth.  
  
“What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost, _sensei,_ ” Senku drawls.  
  
Xeno stalks back to him, yanking him up by his deer skin collar. “What do you _want?_ ”  
  
Senku doesn’t waver. “Corn. But right now? You.”  
  
_“Why?”_ Xeno asks.  
  
“I want to know,” Senku says, his voice ragged, red eyes intense. “Who was it that took the shot? Was it you, or one of your lackeys?”  
  
Looking into those eyes, Xeno decides it’s best to be truthful-- for now. “It wasn’t me. But I ordered it.”  
  
“Ah, one of your lackeys, then.”  
  
“He’s not a _lackey!_ ” Xeno says with irritation. “His name is Stanley!”  
  
“Stanley? I don’t care one millimeter what you name your tools,” Senku quips.  
  
That sets Xeno off. He seethes, clutching Senku’s coat collar with both hands and yanking him up to his height.  
  
Senku is unshaken. “Too much of a coward to kill me yourself, eh? Well here I am. Go on, kill me.”  
  
Xeno snarls. “Don’t think I won’t!”  
  
He pins Senku against the wall, his forearm at his throat. The corked glass bottles on the shelves rattle slightly from the impact.  
  
Senku laughs dryly; Xeno feels his Adam’s apple bobbing at the action.  
  
“You can’t. Tsukasa will kill you and everything you’ve worked for will be for nothing,” he chokes on the last word.  
  
“I have an ace up my sleeve. Stanley is one of your captives, and he was in the military,” Xeno smirks deviously. “He’s just biding his time. He can escape your men’s grasp easily.”  
  
“Looks like we’re at an impasse, then,” Senku hisses out. “Our men will do anything to protect us.”  
  
“Well, don’t you underestimate my Stanley.”  
  
“And don’t _you_ underestimate my Tsukasa,” Senku rasps out.  
  
_He’s sweating,_ Senku thinks to himself. _He’s not as composed as he thinks he is. I’m no mentalist, but I’ve watched Gen at work long enough to glean a few things about how people work. This should be exciting.  
  
_“ _How_ aren’t you dead, anyway?” Xeno seethes. “Stanley _never_ misses.”  
  
“Oh, he didn’t miss.” Senku reaches down, pulls open his coat -- revealing a belt of thick gauze around his torso. “Starch and water, in a bag. It wasn’t mixed well enough, so I didn’t exactly come away unscathed, but luckily a member of our crew is not only a cook, but has loads of experience with first aid.” Senku smirks. “They said I’ll be just fine.”  
  
Senku watches Xeno’s eyes travel down his torso, not missing the bare skin exposed at the borders of the gauze, and witnesses him swallow thickly.  
  
_That moment I hesitated,_ Xeno realizes. _That saved him.  
  
_He feels a mixture of delight and sickness at that.  
  
“Why do you want to kill me, anyway?” Senku asks. “Wouldn’t having me around be ten billion percent more exciting?”  
  
“ _You_ would only get in my way!” Xeno wrenches Senku up again, roughly putting him on the floor, the back of his head knocking against the wood underneath him.  
  
_Ow,_ Senku thought in irritation. _His arms must’ve gotten tired. Maybe he didn’t have to do as much physical labor as I did after I was_ _revived.  
  
_“‘Get in your way’? Finally carrying out that world domination plan you dreamed of? Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t want anyone around who could tell you the truth about how stupid that is. How… _inelegant.”  
  
_“Shut up!” Xeno’s hands go to Senku’s throat, as he straddles him on the floor. It’s difficult, given his gloves with the extended tips, but he manages. “I can still kill you. Right here, right now. Without making a sound.”  
  
_He’s hesitating,_ Senku notes. _If he was serious, I’d be in trouble right now.  
  
_The feeling of the extended tips on Xeno’s gloves — _what even_ are _those for?_ Senku wonders to himself — isn’t pleasant, their hardness digging into his vulnerable skin, but they aren’t sharp, at least.  
  
Senku laughs. “Go ahead and try! Thanks in part to you, I’ve become a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Nothing gets the heart pumping quite like facing down death!”  
  
He sees irritation flicker in Xeno’s eyes. He sees something else, too.  
  
“Besides… I think this is turning _you_ on too.”  
  
He lifts his leg upward carefully, toward Xeno’s groin… and finds the hardness he was expecting.  
  
Xeno jumps, lurching backward. Senku can see his face and ears reddening. “What the _fuck,”_ he curses in English. “How did you-?”  
  
“Your eyes are dark, but up close, I can see your pupils. And they’re dilated,” Senku smirks knowingly, pushing himself up off the floor to sit up. “The pulse in your neck is elevated as well.”  
  
Xeno grits his teeth. _Of course he would see that. Damn it-!  
  
_Senku’s smirk turns wicked again. “So what’s turning you on most, _sensei?_ The thought of killing me, or the sight of me under you?”  
  
“Shut UP!”   
  
Xeno pounces, his hands on Senku’s throat again. “Shut. Up.”  
  
Senku coughs, but is still able to breathe. “Ah, this again? Why not make this fun for the both of us, hm?” he says, his voice audibly under strain. “Show me a good time before you kill me.”  
  
Xeno frowns deeper. “What?”  
  
Senku reaches down. “This’ll save some time.”  
  
He’s slipped his fundoshi down, just enough for his erect length to make its appearance undoubtedly known through his coat.  
  
Xeno gives a choked gasp, his grip on Senku’s neck unconsciously loosening as he looks down.  
  
“Are you familiar with erotic asphyxiation?” Senku says, as evenly as he would talk about any other matter of science.  
  
Xeno looks up fast, meeting Senku’s eyes with an intense stare. “And _why_ would I participate in that?”  
  
“A little experiment,” Senku says with a crooked grin. “Is it me you’d get off to… or the thought of _killing_ me?”  
  
“This is ridiculous,” Xeno seethes.  
  
“Ah, I also may have developed a kink. So I’d like to test that as well. I never had the opportunity to test this kind of thing out back in the old world, after all. Faster to just rub one out and be done with it, you see.”  
  
Xeno’s eyes narrow. “What did I ever see in you? You are absolutely insufferable!”  
  
“I feel the same about you,” Senku says, his cocky grin not leaving. “I mean, look at you. You look like an Organization XIII reject.”  
  
“I don’t even know what that means, but you are _really_ pissing me off.”  
  
“Then why not release some steam? I’m not feeling any better here,” Senku groaned, lifting his pelvis just so, his length twitching and getting closer to Xeno with the motion.  
  
Xeno grits his teeth. “ _Fuck_ you,” he says, then lifts a hand from Senku’s throat to hastily undo his pants.  
  
“That’s the idea,” Senku says, smug.  
  
Xeno pushes his pants and boxers down in a rush, his near-suffocated dick finally freed from its confines. He leans back over Senku, lowering himself, his furied breath ghosting over his face when he speaks. “Do you have any requests?”  
  
Senku feels Xeno’s hot dick sliding up next to his own. “Nah, this is _perfect.”  
  
_He reaches down, and grabs both their lengths in one hand, enjoying how Xeno’s body jolts at his touch.  
  
“Forgetting something?” Senku drawls. “Like how much you hate me for getting in the way of your _elegant_ plans~?”  
  
Xeno seethes, and both his hands are around Senku’s throat again, squeezing.  
  
“I _do_ hate you. Everything was going so well, and then _your crew_ arrived! Ah,” his breath catches, as Senku’s hand is moving over their lengths. He collects himself again. “All your _pacifism_ and _idealism,_ it makes me sick! Do you really think you can run a society like that? A world filled with fools needs to be ruled, and what better tool for ruling over them than science?”  
  
Senku gasps raggedly. “... _You’re_ the fool,” he croaks out.  
  
Xeno grimaces, his hands tightening.  
  
_I’ve driven myself into a corner here, huh,_ Senku observes. _But, I calculated how much strength he’d need to suffocate me or crush my windpipe. He doesn’t have it. Though..._ _this is going to bruise, isn’t it. Haha, I’m going to have to ask Yuzuriha to make me a scarf later,_ he thinks hazily.  
  
The friction meeting his hand wasn’t pleasant, but sweat and precum were starting to help lubricate things a little better. He wasn’t sure whose it was. He doesn’t want to think about it. He just focuses on the pleasure he feels, and on maintaining consciousness.  
  
Xeno lets out grunts and small moans now and then, as Senku’s hand moves up and down their lengths.  
  
“...So what if I am a fool?” he replies at last. “So what if I’d rather reign in Hell? It’s time for people like us, the cleverest of all, to have a turn in power!”  
  
“Because… that worked… so well… in our time,” Senku gasped.  
  
“That’s enough out of you!” One of Xeno’s hands comes up to cover Senku’s nose and mouth.  
  
_Ah. Making up for his lack of strength, then._ Senku thinks, as his hunger for air deepens — he impulsively attempts a breath, to no avail. _This could be dangerous. Ahaha, but this feels great, too-!  
  
_“That’s right. I can kill you right now, and I can rule unopposed!” Xeno’s eyes meet Senku’s.  
  
The feeling in Senku’s head goes hazier, while the pleasure he felt further down intensified. _I assumed if it got dangerous, I’d just kick him off, but I don’t know if I’ll have the strength to now… Well. There are worse ways to die. But I might as well play my last card.  
  
_When Xeno looks into Senku’s eyes, the light in them beginning to dim, he wavers. Just then the movements of Senku’s hand speed up to a feverish pace.  
  
_He knows he’s in a corner, and is trying to make me lose my focus-!_ Xeno thinks. _Well I won’t! All I have to do is… is…  
  
_“Ah… ahh…”   
  
_...Senku!  
  
_Xeno cries out as he comes, his hand loosening from Senku’s face in the midst of his orgasm. Senku draws a loud gasp of air, coming a moment after.  
  
Senku pumps his own dick a few more times before his hand falls limply to his side. _Holy fuck. I’ve never had an orgasm like that in my life. Way too much effort, but a hell of a payoff.  
  
_Lightheaded, he catches his breath, basking in the haze of his afterglow. Distantly he wonders what Xeno is doing. His hands and body had left him completely after they had both come.  
  
_This might’ve been a worthwhile gamble. Oxytocin. A peptide hormone and neuropeptide. It’s released during sexual activity and orgasm, and has been shown to have positive benefits for social bonding among humans. It might’ve been enough to scramble him, to keep him from killing me. Of course… oxytocin’s effect acted best with people considered to be within their ‘in-group’, and elevated levels of it were hypothesized to be correlated with xenophobic tendencies. Heh…  
  
__Either way, no way to tell for sure unless I talk to him. Whether he sees me as part of his ‘in-group’ or not.  
  
_With effort, Senku sits up — his stomach is covered in semen, likely both his own and Xeno’s. The scent of sex is heavy in the air. Senku grimaces. _Gross.  
  
_The gauze caught the worst of the mess, which Senku is almost thankful for. Easier clean-up. _Luckily, I don’t think Francois is the kind of person who would bat an eye at this. Probably.  
  
_He looks up, and sees Xeno on the other side of the room, his pants pulled back up, and sitting huddled. His shoulders shake now and then.  
  
“You really couldn’t kill me, huh,” Senku says slyly.  
  
Xeno makes an unexpected sound that reaches Senku’s ears.  
  
“Are you _crying?”  
  
_Xeno looks up at him. He’s clearly choked up, and is barely composed enough to speak once he does. “You’re right, I admit it! I _can’t_ kill you. I knew I couldn’t. I knew all along that if I ever laid eyes on you, I’d never be able to summon the strength to-!” Xeno gasps. “That’s why I let Stanley shoot you. Because I knew I’d lose my nerve if I saw you again.”  
  
“...You had a thing for me, all those years ago,” Senku realizes. “I knew you were a wackjob, but into kids…?”  
  
“No!” Xeno shouts. “It wasn’t like that!”   
  
He breathes for a moment, then speaks again, more calmly. “We talked for so long, I got to know you so well… I admired your _mind,_ ” Xeno clarifies, tapping his temple with one of his extended tips. “And I began to fantasize, about the man you’d become, of a future we’d share together… I’d fully planned on recommending you to NASA. You would have gotten an internship instantly. And you would’ve worked alongside me, me teaching you all that I knew, one on one… I fell in love with _that_ Senku, my genius pupil, my future understudy. And when we met at last, back then… I felt like it was all coming together. Our future. Then the petrification happened, and it was all taken away from me…”  
  
Senku absorbed this. “...Huh. That would’ve been my future then. Having it all handed to me, just like that…” He paused. “Well, I can’t complain. This way’s been ten billion percent more fun and exciting, because I built my way here myself, with my friends, rebuilding our world with science. Losing three thousand seven hundred years sucks, but I’m still going to space, no matter what.”  
  
Xeno glares at him, looking absolutely wrecked.  
  
“You expect me to feel sorry for you?” Senku continues. “Because I don’t, not even a millimeter. We _all_ had plans! There’s no use whining about it. All that matters is what we do now. And what you’re doing? Doesn’t work for me. You don’t even know how to revive people from stone. You barely even _tried_ to figure that out. Getting firepower and weapons of science mattered more to you.”  
  
Xeno continues to glare at him, then moves to stand up. “Tch. Clearly anyone who hasn’t been able to keep their minds going long enough to be broken out of the stone isn’t worthy of inheriting this new world. Don’t you see? This is an opportunity we could’ve only dreamed about in the old world! To begin a new world order, where we will no longer be run by fools and science-deniers!”  
  
“...Except it’s a little more than you bargained for, isn’t it.”  
  
“Hm?”  
  
Senku steps forward. “Sure, it’s all fun and games when you’re theorizing about what you’d do if you were in charge, but it gets ten billion percent more complicated once it’s a reality. Maybe you don’t think it’s such a good idea anymore. Except now you’re in too deep to turn back. At least, that’s what you think.”  
  
Xeno frowns. “And what do _you_ know?”  
  
“I know that if you were so committed to your cause, I wouldn’t be breathing right now.”  
  
Xeno seethes, his hands clenching.  
  
“I get it. I remind you of your past. I remind you of what you used to be. You think you have to reject me and get me out of the picture totally to get your way… but when I’m right in front of you, you can’t do it. Something’s stopping you. I don’t know whether that’s _love_ or anything else, but you have reservations. And dictators don’t have reservations.”  
  
“Are you trying to say I’m weak?”  
  
“I’m saying, all this edgy shit?” Senku gestures around the room, and to Xeno’s outfit. “It’s not you. You’ve just been puffing yourself up with a delusion of grandeur. And you keep it up because you don’t think there’s any other option.”  
  
“What other option is there? Join your merry band of neophytes and sing Kumbaya?”  
  
Senku grins and extends a hand. “There won’t be any singing, but we’re going to space! Don’t you want to know how and why we were all petrified three-thousand-seven-hundred years ago?”  
  
Xeno’s dark eyes lit with interest. “...Of course.”  
  
“Well, the answer might well be on the moon. No, it’s _definitely_ there. And I’m gonna need your help to get there. You never got to go to space before, right?”  
  
Xeno gives a small nod of his head. “Right.”  
  
“This might be your one and only chance to do that. And with the help of a former NASA scientist, getting to the moon successfully is ten billion percent more likely to happen!”  
  
Xeno scoffs. “Who sounds like a fool now…”  
  
“I guess that’s a no?”  
  
Xeno straightens, walks up to Senku. He smiles, unsettlingly.  
  
“I didn’t say that.”  
  
_I don’t trust this guy one millimeter,_ Senku thinks. _But we’re going to need his help, or at least his corn.  
  
__Gunshot wounds and a bruised neck, all for this…  
  
__Heh. No one said the pursuit of science was painless.  
_


	2. What's your pleasure?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At long last (and due to popular demand), the second chapter!  
> I had a blast writing this, and my beta-reader and I agree that it's the spiciest fic I've written yet, so get ready ;)
> 
> I did my best to work within canon for some parts, but others I took my own direction with, so /tosses the "canon compliant" tag into the trashcan
> 
> As always, if you enjoy this, kudos and comment!!
> 
> And many thanks again to my beta-reader [coolangelsthesis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolangelsthesis/pseuds/coolangelsthesis), who's been such a good sport about me infodumping about Dr. Stone and blabbing about how gay Xeno and Stanley are. (She agrees)

Xeno’s words left a feeling of tension in the air between them.  
  
“Hey, first, is there any place where I can get cleaned up around here?” Senku asks. After his mind cleared, he knew that there was _no way_ he was making that walk of shame back to his friends and comrades like _this.  
  
_ Xeno scrutinizes him for a moment, then acquiesces. “Certainly. Right this way.”  
  
Senku follows him, warily. “Would you happen to have any gauze around? This bandaging is pretty much ruined now.”  
  
Xeno’s voice is oddly tight when he answers. “I can fetch some. Will you need help putting it on?”  
  
Senku’s voice is flat. “I’ll manage.”  
  
Xeno led him to a surprisingly modern bathroom, with a sink, shower and bathtub, and toilet.  
  
 _Of course he’s already brought back indoor plumbing. The bastard.  
  
_ Xeno showed no interest in cleaning himself — probably because all the mess fell onto Senku, he notes bitterly. Senku sat upon the toilet lid and waited.  
  
Moments later, Xeno returned, off-white gauze strips folded in his hands. “Will this be enough?”  
  
“We’ll see,” Senku says, an edge to his voice as he takes the gauze from Xeno.  
  
Xeno opens his hand at the sink counter, dropping several metal bandage clips, for fastening the gauze with. Senku looks at the clips and then to him, surprised and wary at his consideration, but says nothing.  
  
“I’ll leave you to it,” Xeno says curtly, then shuts the door.  
  
Senku stares at the door a moment, then sighs. He turns to his bandaging, carefully unwrapping the soiled fabric from himself, careful not to let any of the mess touch the protected skin underneath. At the last layer he seethes, the pain from pulling the gauze away from his wounds potent.   
  
He looks down at them — the extent of his injuries was more severe than he had let on. He didn’t want Xeno’s feigned pity — what he had shown him just now was enough to make him feel nauseated. Most of the shotgun bullet fragments had been slowed down enough that they hadn’t pierced any organs, but still had to be dug out of his skin and muscle one by one, leaving sore wounds in their place. Some had begun to ooze again, likely after his most recent ordeal. Other fragments, getting through the less-dense areas of the bag, had penetrated him, blown straight through his body, and while that was a plus for preventing internal bleeding, it had certainly terrified his friends. Well, that and one having hit his stomach, making him cough up blood. That would do it.  
  
Long story short: He was, and still is, in a _lot_ of pain.  
  
In truth, he had been out of commission for some time prior to this, wavering in and out of consciousness. Francois had only been able to help so much, only knowing the most basic of first aid. Luna… Senku didn’t know what to make of her just yet. Her, the pawn of Xeno’s team, the human signal to the sniper. But he was ten billion percent thankful for whatever had made her decide to help him, for her medical school education, incomplete as it was, may well have been what saved Senku’s life. And for his part, he wasn’t going to let it slip to Xeno that _she_ was the real reason he’s breathing right now. She may have boarded the Perseus with less than honorable intentions, but she was the Kingdom of Science’s ally now.  
  
Senku looks to the shower, and decides to attempt to wash away at least some of the filth his skin had gathered, shrugging off his coat and laying it on the toilet lid.  
  
He’s grateful for the curtain that’s hung across the length of the bathtub, reducing the odd exposed feeling he has at being naked in the compound of his enemy. He locates a bar of soap — that good old-fashioned doctor stone — and turns on the water, making it rain down from the shower head.  
  
He expects the water to be cold, but finds that he can change its temperature to lukewarm, even hot. Again, he’s impressed, bitterly so.  
  
Feeling the warm water running down himself, Senku sighs. It had been three… no, three _thousand_ years since he had last had a shower like this. Cleaning himself and his wounds with care, he lets his mind wander.  
  
Why _did_ he feel so angry at Xeno? For trying to kill him, certainly, but he hadn’t felt even close to this way when Tsukasa had killed him. Though, the circumstances were very different; Senku had anticipated and planned for it by the second. But Senku wasn’t even truly surprised that he had been targeted for assassination by Xeno — it was good strategy, after all.  
  
So what was it? What had caused this restless, churning rage to stir inside him at the sight of his former mentor? Was it their former connection? Senku scrubbed at his hair in irritation at that thought. Their partnership was totally logical, no emotions involved. So what if his mind had wandered to his mentor sometimes, while he was taking care of his biological urges? It didn’t _mean_ anything, he had just been a horny teenager then, with absurd fantasies that only served to speed up the process.  
  
(Never mind that he was technically _still_ a teenager, and Xeno had managed to get him hard, after all this time… no, Senku wouldn’t allow himself to think that far.)  
  
No… meeting with Chrome at the rendezvous point was what had solidified his feelings.  
  
For Senku was _Chrome’s_ mentor. He had taught him all that he knew, and when the time came for Senku to pass the torch, while he was falling in and out of consciousness back at the Perseus, Chrome had run with it, stepping up to the plate and then some — inventing a way for the strike team to approach and infiltrate Xeno’s stronghold from an underground tunnel.  
  
Senku hadn’t had a shred of doubt in his choice, and that was confirmed when their eyes met again, at long last, upon the completion of the tunnel. Through his joyous tears, Chrome excitedly told Senku all about how he had figured out the trajectory of the tunnel and the inventions he came up with to dig it. Senku praised him, and as Chrome beamed in pride, a sense of peace had settled into Senku’s heart.  
  
For even if the worst should come to pass one day… he knew he could fully trust that Chrome, his apprentice, a scientist in his own right, would carry on his legacy.  
  
And now that he himself had become a mentor… Xeno’s actions didn’t make sense to Senku anymore. Even if, in theory, Chrome would take a turn, his philosophy changing to something entirely opposite of Senku’s, his goals radically shifting that something Senku couldn’t abide… killing him would _never_ be an option in his mind. He would meet with him, debate him, try to work it out, and if all else failed, thwart his plans, but to kill the young man who had shown him so much natural talent, and trusted him completely… it was unthinkable.  
  
So for Xeno to even consider that long enough for Senku to be shot… he couldn’t forgive him. He knew that the man was corrupt, even back when he was ten years old — but now, Xeno just might be irredeemable.  
  
Senku sighs again, watching the suds fall from his hair. And yet. Senku, in his heart of hearts… could never bring himself to show that same callousness, that same disregard for human life, toward Xeno. He wouldn’t kill him, even if he had the opportunity to.   
  
Once someone dies, that’s it. All their skills, talent, potential, information — everything — are gone. Irretrievable. Killing someone is an enormously consequential decision, one that Senku did not feel he had the right to make, unless in self-defense, as a very last resort. This much was obvious to Senku, undeniable. So why then did Xeno, at least a decade his senior, not grasp this reality?  
  
To have such disregard for human life, Senku just couldn’t understand it. He would _never_ understand it.  
  
Senku’s anger and frustration stir again, his heart starting to pound in his chest. Xeno was simply _infuriating.  
  
_ He finishes rinsing out his hair and washing his body, and steps out of the shower, taking a nearby towel and wrapping it around himself, finding a smaller one to dry his hair with. He sits back down on the toilet lid, pushing his coat aside, then takes off his towel.  
  
He reaches over, digs into one of the pouches tied at his coat’s waist for a topical antibiotic he had brought with him, smoothing it onto his wounds. Then he wraps himself in the fresh gauze, careful not to make it too tight, testing it with a few breaths, and then secures it with four bandage clips, then adds one more for good measure.  
  
He shrugs on his coat, fastening it, and stands, turning to the mirror above the sink. Ruffling his hair dry with the hand towel, he looks at his appearance. A little pale, but no worse for the wear. Only his eyes show the fatigue he felt at this situation.  
  
He sighs again. _What’s my next move here? This… isn’t exactly what I had planned. I expected we’d be able to capture Xeno during the confusion, but instead he captured_ me.  
  
 _But… he’s being civil enough, now. Though that’s probably because I dangled that carrot of space travel in front of him. And… whatever all that was after I jerked him off.  
  
_ “Hmm,” Senku uttered, lifting the towel from his hair. It was dry enough now — it would likely stand up on its own soon. _He’s difficult to read. It’s too bad we haven’t found Gen yet… he’s probably fighting back in his own way by now. Especially after he was proven to be a world-class liar. But he’ll be alright. He’s gotten out of every situation he’s found himself in so far. We’ve gotta do our job first.  
  
_ _Whatever I do… I can’t let Xeno think he has the advantage. Or… perhaps I_ could, _and control him without him realizing it. Nah, that’s Gen-level manipulation. Unless…  
  
_ Senku holds up two fingers in front of his vision, focusing on an idea.  
  
 _Sex. Of course. People have used sex to manipulate others for centuries, at least. In this position I’m in now… I could still capture him. I’ll use the weakness he shows toward me to my advantage-!  
  
_ Senku smirks at his reflection in the mirror. “Get excited.”  
  
He thinks through his plan, then double-checks his bandaging and clothes, making sure his coat’s collar is standing up, before he walks to the door.  
  
Opening it, he peers out, carefully. It isn’t until he steps out that he sees Xeno, leaning against the wall across from him, with his arms crossed. Senku’s again reminded of a Kingdom Hearts villain, but he holds his tongue.  
  
“What do you think?” Xeno says, standing fully and uncrossing his arms at the sight of him.  
  
“Of the bathroom? Nice work,” Senku allows. “Made me nostalgic.”  
  
“Mm,” Xeno responds, not really seeming to care. “Let’s get back down to the foyer. I’d rather not keep your friend Tarzan waiting,” he smirks.  
  
“Tsukasa,” Senku impulsively corrects.  
  
 _Right. When we left them, they didn’t know if our encounter would be fatal for one of us or not. I hope things remained in control while we were gone.  
  
_ When they descended the stairs, Senku’s relieved to find it mostly the same as when they’d left it. Tsukasa stood vigil at the bottom of the staircase, Hyoga, his spear at the ready, was keeping close watch of the silver-haired man he had tied up ( _Is that one Stanley?_ Senku wondered, peering at the gun that was now under Hyoga’s foot), and Ukyo had relaxed some, having untensed his bow and was checking up on their captives. All of them looked up when the two came back.  
  
“So sorry to keep you waiting,” Xeno says, his forced composure back again. “As you can see, your leader is alive and well. Better yet, we have begun negotiations.”  
  
The members of the strike team look at one another, their confusion apparent.  
  
Senku turns to Xeno. “I’m going to go talk with them for a minute. Sit tight.”  
  
He slips past the man, and goes to meet Tsukasa. He peers over his shoulder, and sees Xeno moving just out of eyesight. Senku raises a brow, finding the action odd… but shrugs it off. It gives him an opening anyway. Being watched would make certain things more difficult.  
  
“Senku,” Tsukasa says in greeting. He makes a subtle motion, and they turn around so that their lips and facial expressions can’t be read by Xeno, should he come back. “We’re still capturing him, aren’t we?” he asks in a lowered voice.  
  
“Mm,” Senku nods. “Our plan remains the same. Certain things came up, that’s all.”  
  
“Mmm…” Tsukasa says, thinking. “I trust you, but… do you plan on capturing him yourself?”  
  
“I have a plan for that, too. Don’t worry, big guy,” Senku taps his bicep with a closed fist. “I won’t die again if I can help it.”  
  
“Senku…” Worry crosses Tsukasa’s pretty facial features. “Didn’t I say that I’d do the fighting from now on?”  
  
Senku feels a twinge of regret in his chest. Tsukasa had been… different, since hearing about the shooting. He was sure that if given the chance, Tsukasa wouldn’t hesitate to get his revenge on the man who did it _and_ the man who had ordered it. Only Senku’s word was holding him back. But making this strong man feel so powerless… Senku couldn’t help but feel some guilt at that. However, he couldn’t let him kill anyone, either.  
  
Senku smiles, softly. “Yeah, I know. But this is going to require a little more than the physical variety of fighting. Just trust me, alright?”  
  
“Hmm...” Tsukasa utters, the sound doubtful.  
  
“Tell you what. If I need help, I’ll call for ya, at the top of my lungs. You’ll listen for me, right?”  
  
Tsukasa’s eyes flashed, meeting Senku’s instantly. “Yes. Of course.”  
  
“Alright.” He lowers his voice more. “Do you have any leftover rope?”  
  
Tsukasa sighs softly, and hands Senku a length of slim bamboo rope. Senku takes it and asks for another. Then, hiding behind Tsukasa’s frame out of view of the staircase, Senku undoes his coat and wraps both lengths of rope around his torso, over the bandaging, and once it’s secure, closes his coat again, hiding it from sight.  
  
“Keep control of things here,” he says, then after thinking a moment, he walks over to speak to Hyoga for a moment, something that makes Tsukasa raise a brow. Senku looks over to Hyoga’s captive, his eyes locking with the silver-haired man’s. The man’s stare is intense, his eyes a turbulent ocean.  
  
 _Yeah, that’s Stanley. Ten billion percent positive.  
  
_ Senku then turns with a flourish, breaking eye contact as he turns his back on the group. He walks back up the stairs, soon meeting Xeno’s dark eyes. “Well?”  
  
Xeno gives him a scrutinizing look, then turns. “Come with me.”  
  
Senku follows, but frowns. “Where are we going?”  
  
“To a room where we can discuss matters pertinent to both of us,” Xeno says cryptically, not looking back at Senku.  
  
Senku sighs silently. _I’m really beginning to hate that composure of his.  
  
_ They reached the room shortly after — it was a fairly simple sitting room, with a lit fireplace and a dark wood table that lay between two opposite-facing couches. Xeno took a seat in the one to his left, Senku taking the one on the right. The lighting was dim, but bright enough that Senku could see Xeno’s face clearly.  
  
“I don’t recall starting a negotiation,” Senku began with a small smirk, as Xeno was entwining his extended fingers together.  
  
“Oh? Then how, pray tell, do you think this is going to work?” Xeno says, his eyes darkening.  
  
 _Don’t lose your cool. You’ve got more than one card to play._ “You’ve lost already, old man. You failed to kill me,” Senku started counting on his fingers, “I have the revival fluid formula, I’m not the only scientist in my kingdom, and we have your castle on lockdown, its defenses disabled. I’m simply giving you a chance to get something out of this _you_ want before we take over.”  
  
Xeno pauses, then smirks, slowly. “You audacious little brat. You really think you’ve won. Teenagers are _so_ arrogant.”  
  
“How am I wrong?”  
  
“I have some of America’s brightest minds and strongest tacticians on my side. My technology’s more advanced than yours, stronger than yours, more capable than yours.”  
  
“And your numbers are few. You said that yourself.”  
  
“Their strength, experience, and skill makes up for it. Also, do you really think that everyone is located in this building right now?”  
  
“I’ve got that covered, too. Do you think my whole army is in this building?”  
  
Xeno flinches, just a little. He recomposes himself. “My people are still alive. You didn’t kill them. Do you really think they’ll pledge allegiance to you?”  
  
“I dunno. I suspect half of them are in this for the luxuries, like that bathroom over there. And I have plenty of experience in winning people over to my side. Don’t underestimate me.”  
  
Xeno’s mouth twitches. His eyes never leave Senku, constantly analyzing.  
  
“You may be out of your depth, Senku Ishigami,” he says. “My people won’t be satisfied by mere playthings. They want a new world order as much as I do.”  
  
“This is gonna be a new world order regardless of who’s in charge,” Senku rebuts. “Why not give your people a choice of who they think will lead them best? Wasn’t this country supposed to be a shining example of democracy?” There’s a mocking tone to his voice as he says it, a smirk on his lips.  
  
“Hm,” Xeno smirks too. “You have a point, there.”  
  
His finger taps the top of his hand idly, as he thinks.  
  
 _I keep looking for an opening and there just isn’t one,_ Senku thinks. _Is that by accident, or design...?  
  
_ “Senku,” Xeno says, breaking the silence. “You have a best friend from childhood, don’t you?”  
  
Senku hesitates, but answers. “Yes.”  
  
“You would do anything for this person, and he would do anything for you. Is that correct?”  
  
Taiju’s face flashes in Senku’s mind; he thinks of how his friend played the role of “Dr. Taiju” without hesitation to protect him, and how he was the first person Senku saw when his consciousness returned — for Taiju had never left his side. “...Yes. How is this relevant?”  
  
Xeno tents his fingers. “You see, I have a best friend from childhood too. We pursued different careers as we grew up, but we always stayed connected. Now, brought together by fate, thousands of years later, we’re closer than ever. And he believes in my dream, too. He would do anything to help me pursue it, and I support him with whatever he needs to do that in return. To give up on this now, to… do what? Build a makeshift spacecraft to pursue a wild goose chase with a crew of adolescents? It would feel like a betrayal of the trust he’s placed in me. You understand, don’t you?”  
  
“Not really,” Senku replies flatly. “If he’s such a good friend, he should support you no matter what.”  
  
Xeno locks eyes with Senku for a moment, then tsks. “Senku. Don’t you think you owe me?”  
  
Senku has to hold back a laugh. “Owe you for _what?”  
  
_ Xeno stands, towering over Senku, his fingers spreading at his sides. “ _I_ was your mentor. I taught you everything I could, free of charge and during my spare time. You are the scientist you are because of _me._ Shouldn’t I have your loyalty in return?”  
  
Senku can’t help the sneer that warps his face. “Bullshit. You think a hell of a lot of yourself, don’t you?”  
  
Xeno leans down to Senku’s face, his voice rising. “I _made_ you who you are! You are _mine!”  
  
_ Senku leans in too, raising his voice to match. “ _My father_ made me who I am! _You were just the consultant._ ”  
  
Xeno pulls back quickly, straightening with a deep, dark frown, accentuated by the X scar on his face. “I see.”  
  
He turns, and walks over to the fireplace. Senku watches him, warily.  
  
“I had hoped we could see eye-to-eye on a few things. Simply accepting defeat… it isn’t _elegant.”  
  
_ Senku’s watchful eye catches a glint of reflected light, and his heart falls.  
  


* * *

_  
“Hyoga. Tell me the best way to restrain a man.”  
  
_ _Hyoga chuckled. “That’s upfront. Why should I tell you?”  
  
_ _“You don’t want to lose this fight any more than I do.”  
  
_ _“Hmm, you’ve got me there, I suppose. Then, I feel I should tell you something you should consider first, before doing this.”  
  
_ _“What’s that?”  
  
_ _“That this,” Hyoga said, looking down at the shotgun pinned under his foot, “...likely isn’t the only gun in this castle.”  
  
_

* * *

  
Adrenaline shoots through Senku, hastening his thoughts and movements. His hand finds a certain pouch at his waist, a last-ditch measure he had hoped he wouldn’t have to fall back on.  
  
Xeno turns and Senku chucks the item into the air. It sails above Xeno’s head as he shouts:  
  
“Medusa! Petrify!”  
  


* * *

  
Senku’s shout is heard in the foyer. Tsukasa and Ukyo freeze in place.  
  
“Ukyo,” Tsukasa says in a restrained voice, “what did he say?”  
  
“He said, ‘Medusa, petrify’.”  
  
They both blink.  
  
“Those… aren’t the right words,” Tsukasa observes, a realization dawning on him.  
  
“He’s gambling on Xeno not knowing about the Medusa…” Ukyo says, finishing Tsukasa’s thoughts.  
  
“Mm…” Tsukasa stares at the stairway, still frozen. “If he’s a scientist like Senku, and has never seen that device before… he won’t be able to keep his eyes off it.”  
  
Tsukasa sighs.  
  
“Don’t make me regret trusting you, Senku…”  
  


* * *

  
Xeno’s jaw drops, his eyes caught by the glint of green glass and circuit boards warped into intertwined mobius strips.  
  
And in that moment, Senku tackles him.  
  
Catching him off-guard, he’s able to knock the handgun out of Xeno’s hand. It clatters to the floor out of Xeno’s reach. Shortly thereafter, the Medusa lands, harmlessly.  
  
Senku pins Xeno to the floor with all his weight like his life depended on it, clutching at his wrists and reaching for the rope he had tucked away. He chuckles, attempting to ease his frayed nerves. “You Americans sure love your guns.”  
  
Xeno laughs, with effort. “You tricked me. How inelegant of you.”  
  
“Bringing out that gun was inelegant,” Senku says, freeing a length of rope. “I thought you said you couldn’t kill me?”  
  
“A handgun has a way of steeling one’s resolve,” Xeno says. “One pull of the trigger and it’s over.”  
  
“Uh huh,” Senku says airily. _Sounds like a way to try to convince himself of it._ “Who brings a handgun to a negotiation? That’s pretty inelegant too.”  
  
“If one is to rule, you have to be prepared for every scenario- Ow,” Xeno says, squirming uselessly as he’s rolled to his side and his arms pulled behind him. “When did you get so strong-?!”  
  
“By working harder than you,” Senku says, hurriedly wrapping rope around Xeno’s wrists and leaning in to tie it securely.  
  
Xeno laughs again. “Never thought I’d be close enough to hear your heartbeat…”  
  
Senku gives him a look. _What a weirdo…  
  
_ “What is that, anyway? A faked petrification device?” Xeno says, now facing the Medusa as it lay, unharmed, on the floor.  
  
Senku smirks. “Oh, it’s very real. And it’s voice-activated. I just didn’t use the right words.”  
  
Xeno stares up at him with widened eyes for a moment, processing. Then he smirks back. “You’ve become a cunning man, Senku Ishigami. Very elegant.”  
  
Senku gives a small ‘hmph’ of confidence, then subtly peers over at the gun — it’s a steel revolver.  
  
Suddenly something occurs to him.  
  
His hand goes to Xeno’s neck, finding his carotid.  
  
 _I remember he always had a thing for polygraph testing… might as well try something like it myself.  
  
_ “Xeno,” Senku says, his voice deadly serious, fingers pressing on Xeno’s pulse. “Where is Gen Asagiri?”  
  
Xeno doesn’t flinch at Senku’s touch; he likely realized what Senku was trying to do. “Hm? He’s in another room, far from here,” he answers calmly.  
  
 _No change,_ Senku notes.  
  
“Did you kill Gen Asagiri?”  
  
His pulse spikes slightly at the word ‘kill’, but settles again. “No! Whyever would you think that?”  
  
 _Because he’s a proven liar who lied to protect me, that’s why.  
  
_ “Then where is he? Why haven’t we seen him yet?” Senku presses more of his weight onto Xeno, reminding him that there’s no escape.  
  
“He’s in the storage room!” Xeno exclaims. “He’s being well cared for, if you’re so interested.”  
  
 _Alright, he’s probably telling the truth. Probably. Can’t say he didn’t consider killing him, though.  
  
_ “Fine,” Senku says, letting go of Xeno’s neck. He rolls him over roughly again, quickly moving to sit on his legs to tie his ankles together with the other length of rope he brought.  
  
He notices… _something_ brushes against him as he does so.  
  
He peers behind him, his hands at work in front of him. “...Seriously? Again? _This_ is turning you on? You are one kinky bastard.”  
  
Senku’s treated to the sight of Xeno’s face turning red before he turns his eyes back to his work. Xeno gives a nervous laugh.  
  
“Surely you know that BDSM was a common kink in our time.”  
  
“ _Way_ more than I needed to know about you,” Senku says, finishing tying up Xeno’s ankles. He wasn’t getting away now. “Heh.”  
  
He sits up, observes his work. Xeno struggles against the ropes for a moment, but is unable to break them.  
  
A broad smirk stretches out across Senku’s face.  
  
“I _could_ drag you downstairs and show off your ridiculous hard-on to everyone…” he says, watching how Xeno’s blush deepens at that. “But you’ve given me an idea.”  
  
Xeno’s eyebrows raise, but before he can get a word out, Senku’s hovering over him, his face inches from his own. He swallows thickly.  
  
“See, I’m still pretty pissed off, especially after that stunt you just pulled,” Senku says, well aware that Xeno could feel his breath on his face. “I think it’s time for a little payback…” He hooks a finger behind the knot in his necktie. “You can’t fight back, but… given your reactions so far…” Senku lowers his voice to a whisper. _“I don’t think you’d want to.”  
  
_ Senku can feel the shiver that goes through Xeno as he pulls his necktie loose. His fingers get to work unbuttoning his dress shirt, opening his black coat to unbutton the rest of it. Pulling open both, Senku exposes Xeno’s pale chest.  
  
“Now, I don’t know much about, what was it? BDSM?” Senku says, coy. “But I think I know what I can do to drive you crazy… and let you know _you’re under my control now.”  
  
_ Xeno’s breathing speeds up, his face showing a conflicted expression, until Senku reaches for one of Xeno’s nipples, rolling it slowly between his fingertips, then _pinching.  
  
_ “Ah-!” Xeno exclaims, then bites his lip, letting out a small moan.  
  
Senku smirks. “Come on, no need to hold back. It’s just us.” He straddles Xeno’s hips, continuing to rub at one nipple, then the other, then he grinds, slowly, against Xeno’s restrained erection.  
  
Xeno moans louder now, his face reddening and his brows knit. “Please… my pants… take them off…”  
  
“Got you begging already, huh?” Senku says with a wicked grin. “Not yet. I’m not done having my fun.”  
  
Xeno writhes, Senku’s hands rubbing slowly down Xeno’s chest and back up, fingers passing over his pounding heart to rub at one of his mounds again. Senku rolls his hips against Xeno’s now and then, and at one point Xeno’s buck upward to meet him on impulse.  
  
Senku chuckles lowly. “You really are acting like uh… what was the English word?” He pauses. “A _slut._ ”  
  
Before Xeno can respond, Senku dips down to take one of Xeno’s nipples into his mouth, licking then sucking at it.  
  
“Ahh-!” Xeno lets out, his back arching as he moans.  
  
Senku lifts his head. “Does Stanley touch you like this~?” He flicks the nipple with his tongue.  
  
Xeno flushes deeper. “Don’t… talk about Stanley… right now…”  
  
Senku laughs. “So you two are like that, huh? I bet he’d be jealous as hell of the view I’m getting right now.”  
  
Xeno pants, softly whining at the sudden lack of touches. His pale skin is reddening now, especially around his nipples.  
  
“Heh heh. If Hyoga let him go right now, I’d be in big trouble,” Senku says wickedly, palming Xeno’s groin and licking a long trail up his abdomen.  
  
Xeno jolts, unable to hold back a loud moan. “S-Senku…”  
  
“What a dirty man, getting turned on by your own student,” Senku mocks, then takes one of Xeno’s nipples between his teeth, lightly biting down.  
  
“Ah!” Xeno tosses his head backward, reacting to the feeling of pleasure-pain.  
  
“You protested a _little_ too much earlier. I bet you jerked off to those pics I sent you of me when I was a kid,” Senku says with a sneer, grinding the heel of his palm into Xeno’s crotch.  
  
Xeno yells out again. “N-no-!”  
  
“Guess you’d never admit it even if you did. Whatever.” Senku pinches an overstimulated nipple, hard. “Does Stanley know about me?”  
  
Xeno seethes. “Yes!”  
  
“Oh, so it’s like that. I bet he was more than happy to take that shot.”  
  
“He asked me… before he did it. If I was sure,” Xeno pants.  
  
“...Awfully considerate, for a murderer,” Senku says, pushing away the weird feeling he has at being a topic of conversation between those two at least once, before all of this.  
  
“Senku…” Xeno says, then lifts his bound legs with effort. “Are you feeling this too…?”  
  
“Wha-” Senku says, then flinches at one of Xeno’s knees meeting his groin with a soft, testing touch. He had been so focused on Xeno that he hadn’t even realized it… he _was_ hard.  
  
“Tch,” Senku lets out, glaring down at Xeno.  
  
“There’s no shame in that, you know,” Xeno says, his usual mannerisms returning _too_ easily. “A student being attracted to their teacher is very common. I’m sure you admired me _much_ more than the teachers in your grade level-”  
  
“I’ve decided. You don’t need to talk anymore.”  
  
Senku yanks the loose necktie from Xeno’s shirt collar, balls it and stuffs it into his mouth. Xeno blinks up at him in surprise, making a muffled sound.  
  
“There,” Senku smirks in satisfaction. “Now, where were we?”  
  
He looks down at Xeno’s bulging erection. “Ah, yes.”  
  
He clutches it again, making Xeno give a muffled whine.  
  
“You won’t make me lose my focus again. Remember? You’re my possession now. My spoils of war.” He leans up, puts his mouth on Xeno’s neck, sucking at his pulse point. Xeno moans again, Senku drinking in the sound.  
  
He pulls back, his lips giving a wet _pop._ “You’ve lost, Dr. X,” he says in a sultry whisper near his ear. “Everything you’ve made and worked for will be mine. Your castle? Mine. Your factory? Mine. Your farm? Mine. Your corn? Mine,” he places trailing kisses down Xeno’s neck for every bounty he named. “You, and your mind? _Mine.”  
  
_ Senku sinks his teeth into Xeno’s collarbone, biting down and sucking _hard.  
  
_ Xeno cries out, his back arching as the pained sound turns into one of pleasure.  
  
Senku pulls back, wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, and observes the marks he’s left on him with a devious smirk. “Explain _this_ to Stanley.”  
  
Xeno gives a miserable groan, looking up at Senku with glossy eyes.  
  
“Alright, I’ve made you wait long enough, I _guess.”_ Senku reaches down, fumbles with Xeno’s belt buckle and zipper, undoing them and pulling his pants down to mid-thigh, Xeno giving a relieved moan with the action. He finds a pair of black boxer-briefs, the front of them visibly dampened. He pulls those down too, revealing Xeno’s erect length, wet with precum.  
  
Senku reaches down for it. “You want this?” He slides his hand up Xeno’s length, slowly, swiping his thumb over the head.  
  
Xeno moans, huffing through his nose; he makes an affirmative noise.  
  
Senku gives a few more long, slow, torturous strokes. _Just letting him come right now feels a little anticlimactic… hmm.  
  
_ “You know… I _could_ make you come right now,” Senku says with a teasing smirk. Xeno nods at him, his eyes pleading.  
  
“But-” Senku reaches up in one smooth motion, pulling the necktie out of Xeno’s mouth. Xeno gasps and coughs in surprise.  
  
Before he knows it, Senku’s already tied the length of fabric around the hilt of Xeno’s cock, _tight.  
  
_ Xeno’s face somehow manages to flush an even hotter red, throwing his head back with a groan of frustration.  
  
Senku knows he’s probably blown right past what would be acceptable at this point, his treatment of Xeno downright excessive; sadistic, even. But right now, he found that rendering this older man — this man who had wanted him dead — helpless, making him writhe in pleasure under his touch… was _exhilarating.  
  
_ The smirk on Senku’s face grows devilish. “This’ll be more fun for the both of us.”  
  
“No…” Xeno whines, and begins to moan and squirm at Senku’s hand moving up and down his length again.  
  
“Come to think of it, you _did_ have a hand in making me who I am,” Senku begins, deciding to idly think aloud as his hand moves over Xeno’s restrained dick. “You showed me that there will be crazy scientists out there who will use science for their own selfish ends, at the expense of innocent people; scientists I’ll have to fight back against.” He slides his hand to the head, rubs then _squeezes_ it. Xeno lets out a heated groan.   
  
“I flew to Africa to study Ebola. I learned how to make sulfa drugs from _scratch_ . All because of those little talks you gave me, about ballistic missiles and biological weapons.” Senku’s hand speeds up, Xeno rendered speechless, contorting in pleasure. “You helped me narrow my focus. I’ve wanted to go to space since I was a kid… but because of you, I realized my science was needed here on Earth, too.” Senku leans down, looks into Xeno’s eyes. “You have my thanks… but I’ll _never_ kiss your ring.”  
  
He yanks off the necktie in one swift motion, and a few pumps of his hand result in the loudest moan from Xeno yet, his forceful release almost getting on Senku, had he not leaned back at the last second.  
  
 _Great, Ukyo probably heard that,_ Senku thinks wearily. _He won’t blab, though.  
  
_ Senku looks down at Xeno, watches him catch his breath, his cum-covered stomach and chest rising and falling. He feels his own dick twitch at the sight.  
  
 _Yeah, I think that’s enough payback. For now.  
  
_ “Senku…” Xeno lets out, still panting, his dark eyes meeting Senku’s. “Do you need release?”   
  
Senku looks down, knowing full well that he himself was still hard. “Eh, might as well.” He slips his hand into his coat, undoing it and slipping down the fundoshi to release his dick. He’s just about to put his hand on it when he sees a pale-blond blur.   
  
“Allow me.”   
  
“Eh?!”   
  
Xeno has leaned up, propping himself up with his bound hands, and he takes Senku’s length into his mouth in one smooth motion, working at it immediately.  
  
“What the fu-?! Nn!” He’s about to push him off, but Xeno got to work too quickly, going down on him like a trained professional.  
  
 _He’s definitely sucked Stanley’s dick,_ Senku manages to think before the perfected movements of Xeno’s head, mouth and tongue leave his mind scrambled.  
  
He was already close, from watching Xeno’s reactions and at the sight of him totally wrecked, so it doesn’t take much time at all for Senku to climax, his eyes shutting tight as an orgasm rips through him.  
  
In the haze of his afterglow, he looks down at Xeno. Xeno looks back up at him — he’s swallowed nearly _every_ drop, save for a telltale one that had landed on his lip. He gives Senku a smile that’s both lazy and triumphant.  
  
Senku smacks the middle of the X scar on his forehead with his open palm, the force pushing Xeno onto his back again.  
  
“You’re disgusting,” Senku spat, though inwardly he was glad he’d have less to clean up. He stood up, pulling his fundoshi back up and closing his coat securely. “You’re lucky I don’t want to kill you.”  
  
Xeno smirks, giving a chuckle. “You don’t? I’d hardly blame you.”  
  
“This was the plan all along. To capture you. It just became more complicated along the way,” Senku shrugs. He walks over to the Medusa, picking it up and putting it back into its pouch at his waist. He looks at the gun, and after a moment’s consideration, he decides it would be too dangerous to leave lying around in the enemy’s stronghold, and picks it up. He locates the safety mechanism — disengaged, of course — and engages it. He decides to check the ammo too — it’s loaded, at capacity.  
  
He hooks the handgun on the belt at his waist, picks up the discarded necktie, and walks back over to Xeno, pulling his pants up and hauling him to his feet. “I’m cleaning you up first. You stink.”  
  
Remembering the way to the bathroom, Senku drags Xeno by his coat collar, the heels of his shoes scraping the floor. Once there, Senku reluctantly sits Xeno down on the side of the bathtub, grabs a hand towel and wipes the mess off, washing his hands at the sink once finished. He comes back, closing Xeno’s shirt and coat and buckling his belt.  
  
“Isn’t this a bit too kind for a captive?” Xeno remarks, as Senku’s fumbling with his damp, wrinkled necktie. Senku hadn’t bothered with washing it — he didn’t know what material it was made of, Xeno coming back without it would be suspect, and he figured Xeno ought to have one more personal reminder of what had just happened.  
  
“I hadn’t planned on parading you downstairs covered in cum, so,” Senku replies sarcastically. “Just did what I needed to. I wanted to clean up too.”  
  
“Why not kill me?” Xeno says. Senku meets his eyes. The look in them is serious.  
  
Senku can’t stand his gaze, and breaks eye contact before answering. “Because then I’d be a hypocrite.”  
  
“Mm?” Xeno says, raising a brow.  
  
Senku sighs. “I’ve avoided killing anyone, all this time. I’ve always found a way around it, no matter what someone did in the past. Especially if the person might be of value to have around later. So killing you, just to make this invasion easier? Not gonna happen.”  
  
“You’ve chosen a more difficult path,” Xeno points out. “I would say it’s a naive one, but… those brutish friends of yours. Were they once your enemies?”  
  
Senku smirks. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”  
  
Xeno mirrors him. “Well, quite elegant either way.”  
  
Senku looks down, smirk fading. “Not only that… I’m a science mentor now, too. I’d never kill my apprentice,” he gives Xeno a pointed look, “and I’d hope he would give me the same consideration… if it ever came to that.”  
  
“I see,” Xeno nods. “ _‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’_ That’s your credo?”  
  
“I suppose so,” Senku shrugs. “My Kingdom of Science has worked so well because of the cooperation of everyone involved, every person making best use of their strengths.” Senku grabs hold of Xeno’s coat collar again, and gives him a sly smile. “You’ll just have to make yourself useful, that’s all.”  
  
Xeno looks back at him warily, and without another word Senku’s hauling him out of the bathroom, lifting the man in a princess-carry pose, and makes his way down the staircase once again, met by the cheers of his comrades.  
  
Tsukasa’s relief is palpable, the tension in him easing as he takes Xeno from Senku’s hold. Senku can hear Hyoga chuckling to himself, as though delighted that he was able to pull it off. Ukyo’s eyes meet Senku’s, and he gives a small knowing smile. Senku’s eyes wordlessly tell him to keep it to himself, and he does, saying no more about what he may or may not have heard.  
  
And so the Kingdom of Science carried away their spoils of war…  
  
...but not before Chrome took a whack at Dr. Xeno’s nuts.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- The title of this chapter comes from [a song I listened to repeatedly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS_o7XpnEqA) (along with the rest of the album it's from) while writing this. It doesn't entirely fit this fic, but it's pretty sexy.  
> \- I tried my best to make Senku's wounds sound... _less_ lethal for this, while still preserving Chrome's arc because I can't cheat a good boy out of his own character arc like that ;w;  
> \- I was too far into completing this fic to alter the parts where Senku opens/closes his coat after seeing fanart of how his coat would work... so let's say that his signature coat had to be altered a bit by Yuzuriha in light of getting blasted by shotgun fire, mm?  
> \- SO YEAH, I wrote the part with the Medusa _right before_ the manga update where Ukyo just, shot it over there :'D I said "What?!" along with everyone else, lol. (At least my guess about Xeno's reaction was right!!)  
> \- I wrote the part about Gen's survival being in doubt before the manga update that showed him ^^' I left it in to preserve flow and as a way of showing that Senku's friends' welfare is never far from his mind :'3  
> \- The main reason I wanted to write a second chapter to this was that I wanted to make Senku top _the shit_ outta Xeno... it spiraled from there ^^;  
> \- Inspiration for the part where Senku ties off Xeno's dick came from a chapter of a fic my beta-reader wrote for DMMd five years ago, [Lovers Who Uncover!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2599625) If you like DMMd and NoiAo, do check it out -- it's even sexier than this ;3c  
> \- I'm going to consider this fic finished, at least until further notice. If future manga updates give me plot bunnies, I MAY continue it, but for now? Consider this a complete piece <3  
> (Anyone remember the term plot bunnies?? it was adorable, bring it back)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm leaving open the possibility of continuing this, depending on what happens in the coming updates to the manga. We'll see~
> 
> Feel free to join the Dr. Stone shipping server on Discord! All ships are welcome!  
> We have lots of events scheduled, RP our fave ships, share headcanons, fanart, fic and more!  
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